My son heard this song on the M&M commercial, and also heard it on the bus because of the bus driver listening to this song. I was very upset, therefore when the commercial comes on I either change the channel, and/or mute the tv. As far as the bus driver goes, I have called the transportation department of the school district and reported this, however he has been coming home singing those songs still. So I am assuming the bus driver has not been talked to, or clearly just doesn't listen. It's all in how YOU "parent" the situation. I agree with the above.

I have learned to appreciate PBS more and more. No inappropriate commercials there. I have seen some really questionable things on "regular" TV, even during the day. I saw the M&M thing too, and was astonished that they would choose such an adult theme for a candy.

I often feel that adults mistake "parenting" for "paranoia". I believe it is every parent's responsibility (and privilege) to protect their children to the best of their ability. That said, I also believe that many of the world's woes hold only as much power as we imbue them with. Words can be powerful, but they can also be stripped of their power when necessary, and it's a skill that I think children (and adults) are never too young to learn. I've chosen to teach my son (age 6) that there are appropriate and inappropriate words (because regardless of what I do to try and shield him, he's going to hear them all eventually, and probably sooner than he should) and help him learn to be responsible for whether or not (and when and how) he uses them. I'd much rather that he learn the hurtful words now, when I can help him categorize them, than have him hear something later and actually hurt someone by repeating it because he didn't know it was "that kind of word". As for "sexy"... I told him it's a word grown-ups use and that it doesn't really apply to kids, because people can't be "sexy" until their grown-ups. He said, "Oh." and that was that.

Thank you for posting, Laura.

Ann

My 2 year old learned the words and told me one day, "Sexy and know it". I couldn't believe he caught on to that so quickly. I have now changed my music in my car to Elmo Cd's and lullaby's etc. As it was cute to hear, I don't want him singing that to me or other people. He still asks for me to put it on in the car, but we are now screening our music in and out of the car to the best we can.

We often put on Pandora during dinner or play music via a jukebox app I wrote. That way I can expose my kids to great music from the past 70 or so years (and far older) and hopefully they will be able to compare musical giants like Handel, Glenn Miller, Bobby Darin, the Cure, and U2 to current music to determine quality of music and lyrics.

In the car, mix CDs and 90.9 are great! It's tough finding a station that has songs meant for adults but appropriate for kids on regular AM/FM.

What bugs me is when we go someplace meant for kids, such as a Pump It Up or children's restaurant, and the music is inappropriate. There are plenty of excellent songs that aren't sexual. Play some, even if it isn't current top 40.

Angela, if you don't get results from the transportation department, take it up a level or two. If music is played on the school bus, it should be appropriate for all riders.

great idea..I will try that. My doctor had said to try using sirrius and playing the disney channel etc..I listened to that and that was for much older kids, not much he can relate to at this point.

I want to share an experience I had with my 7 year old son yesterday! We too use appropriate and inappropriate language with our kids (like privacy when changing, etc.) so they are quite familiar. My son shared with me that he was upset with a friend b/c he said the word (he didn't want to even say it b/c he knew it was an inappropriate word and my 5 year old was in the car so he spelled it) s..(I was hoping he was going somewhere else with the word!) e..x..y. He's never said it so I was surprised it was in his vocabulary. He said his friend said "I'm sexy and I know it" (I heard it on a commercial too...btw we don't allow our children to watch commercials for this very reason and TV is monitored very closely to protect our kids from exposure to "inappropriate things" which are prevalent). I knew I needed to address it so later on, w/o my 5 year old present, I asked him what he thought the word meant. He said "you know how girls act, they try to be that way". I asked him to explain. He said "the girls in my class will pull their shirt down so their shoulder shows...I also saw a billboard advertisement with a women with a bra on and she was acting that way" he then said "even boys will try to act like that by taking their shirt off and showing off". It was clear to me that he understood the concept more than I thought. It was a great opportunity to teach him more in depth about our Christian faith, what God desires of and for us, and how to be a leader not a follower.

I'm pretty sure that "sexy" and "cute" are interchangeable for 7 year old children.